


love struck

by annadavidson



Series: that which shaped the century (a dragon age dual au) [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Dragon Age AU, Dragon Age Dual AU, Dual AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 09:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9649004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annadavidson/pseuds/annadavidson
Summary: This was probably the last time his sister would let him get drunk.Prompt: “I accidentally punched you in the face when I was too overexcited about something.”





	

This was probably the last time his sister would let him get drunk. It wasn’t his fault he was a happy drunk, and it certainly wasn’t his fault that _this_ was when the Wardens had decided to give them good news. After so long of traveling and running, he and his sister had decided to stop in Amaranthine and seek refuge under the Arl, a Commander of the Grey. They had heard that the Arl was a fellow mage. They hadn’t known whether or not those rumors were true, but they had hoped. They had hoped he would understand their situation. They had hoped he would grant them asylum.

The wait was because of his twin sister, Ai. The Arl had been advised not to take the two apostates in. In a moment of panic, Ai had blurted out that they could repay any hospitality by joining the Wardens and working under the Arl’s command. They had waited in a tavern in Amaranthine, dreading the unknown. Who would come first for them? The Wardens or the Templars? The wait had been so excruciating that the normally sober twins had started to drink.

Ai held her liquor better than him. It didn’t take much to get him drunk and giddy. She was a calm drunk compared to him.

When the news finally came, the sky was dark and most of the tavern’s patrons had retired for the night. The tavern doors swung open and a dwarf and elf walked in. The dwarf wore heavy Grey Warden armor with a shield and sword strapped to his back. The elf looked clearly Dalish with the design of the ink on his face and leather clothing he wore. He looked more like a recruit than an actual Warden. He was armed with a beautiful crafted bow and a quiver full of sharp arrows that looked handcrafted.

The dwarf stood before them, waiting for them to get up. The elf came to stand at their other side, closer to Zhen while the dwarf was closer to Ai.

Zhen had a sinking feeling, and he was certain his twin did too. They exchanged a look before cautiously standing up. Despite being armed, the Warden and recruit didn’t look like they were expecting a fight. They looked much more relaxed than the twins. Zhen drunkenly thought they might have had a chance at taking them.

“My name is Warden Rendlin Aeducan,” the dwarf stated, “I bring news from Vigil’s Keep. Are you the apostates that visited earlier?”

Heads scattered around the room looked up at that. Zhen sensed rather than felt or saw his sister tense.

 _“Yes,”_ she spoke before he could, an unspoken threat lacing her tone and the word.

Rendlin’s expression hardened, but it wasn’t directed at the twins. He scanned the tavern, taking a moment to look at each of the remaining patrons. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. How many of these people would go running to the Chantry or Templars with news of two new apostates in town? His gaze fell back on the twins and softened.

“Warden Commander Surana offers you his protection,” he informed them, a smile touching his face. “You are to be conscripted as Grey Warden recruits.”

It took a moment for the news to hit them. When it did, Ai hugged her brother before moving to thank Rendlin despite the fact that he hadn’t made the decision, only delivered it. Zhen wasn’t sure why he felt urged to do so – he would later blame the alcohol – but he punched out at the air gleefully, as if declaring some victory.

Unfortunately he had forgotten about the recruit standing right by him.

The recruit didn’t make a sound but stumbled back, catching himself against a table. He looked startled, taken off guard. His bright yellow eyes stared at Zhen, though one eye was closed in response to the pain of being punched.

Zhen heard a bark of laughter that he guessed came from Rendlin. He didn’t have to look at his sister to know her expression was a picture perfect _what the fuck did you just do._ He moved quickly to the elf’s side. He managed to open his soon to be bruised eye so now both yellow eyes followed Zhen’s every move. For a moment, he looked like he was going to strike back as if he wanted to grab one of his arrows and stab Zhen with it.

“I’m so sorry!” Zhen sputtered out. He hesitated with getting closer until the murderous look in the elf’s eyes softened. “I–I can heal that!”

“Depends,” the elf leveled a gaze with him, “Do you heal like you punch?”

This time the laughter came from Ai. Zhen shot her a look before turning back to the elf. The young man in front of him reached up, brushing some strands of his brick red hair behind his ear, revealing the undercut he had hidden under his long hair. He then held a hand out, a touch of a smile on his face.

“Bailey Carrian,” the smile grew when Zhen hesitantly shook his hand, “It seems like we’ll be Grey Wardens together, Slugger.”

Zhen groaned. “Is that name going to stick?”

Bailey shrugged. “Probably.”

Ai was grinning. “Definitely.”

The twins were taken back to Vigil’s Keep, riding behind Rendlin and Bailey on two horses. Zhen had gotten stuck riding with Bailey, which had earned him a chuckle from his sister. It had been years since he’d ridden on a horse. If he remembered correctly, he had been ten – before his and his sister’s magic, before Kirkwall’s Circle. They hadn’t used horses while on the run. They hadn’t had any money to purchase a mount or the heart to steal any. Most of their journey had been on foot with the occasional hitching a ride from fellow travelers. Since they had left their staffs behind as Kirkwall burned, they could easily pass as normal travelers without raising the suspicion that they could be apostates.

During the ride, Rendlin explained a bit about the Joining, what they would be undertaking in hopes of becoming Wardens. He didn’t tell them what the Joining actually involved, just that it was a secret tradition and _dangerous._

When they got to Vigil’s Keep, they learned that the Joining wouldn’t happen until the following day. They were showed to separate rooms where they hesitated, glancing back at each other before entering their new rooms.

The first thing Zhen did was to take a bath and change into pajamas offered to him. They weren’t the perfect size, a little big but that was preferred over too small. He flopped onto the bed and let out a content sigh. How long had it been since he’d slept on a bed? An actual good bed and not any crappy excuse for a bed the Circle had given him?

“Settling in nice?” Bailey’s voice came from the doorway.

He opened his eyes – when had he closed them? – and sat up, finding that the elf was in fact leaning against the doorway, arms crossed. His brick colored hair was up in a lazy, messy bun. A few strands hung loose at the side of his face. He’d changed out of the leather and into pajamas that fit him better than Zhen’s did. He looked as content as Zhen felt. Zhen wondered how long Bailey had been at Vigil’s Keep, how long he’d been waiting to undertake the Joining.

He sat cross-legged on the bed. “How’s your eye?” he asked, still feeling guilty about that.

“Better,” Bailey answered simply, walking into the room.

“Do you need me to heal it?”

He shook his head. “Warden Aeducan told the Commander what had happened, and he healed it without even asking, though the pain did linger for a little bit.” He sat down on the edge of the bed by the end, deliberate space kept between him and the mage. “I just… I wanted to let you know I’m not mad at you. I know it was an accident.”

“For a moment there, you did look like you wanted to murder me,” Zhen pointed out. He wasn’t trying to guilt Bailey, but as soon as the words came out, he noticed Bailey’s ears lower though the rogue tried to look unbothered.

“I… have anger issues,” he admitted, “I’m working on it, but it’s not that easy.”

Zhen nodded slowly. “I get that.”

There was a moment of awkward silence before Bailey stood up. “I should probably leave you be.”

Zhen, who had been fiddling with his fingers and staring down, looked up at that. “You don’t _have_ to go.” Bailey raised an eyebrow at him and he hesitated. “It’s just… It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to sit down and just talk with someone _normally._ I mean being on the run, Ai and I stopped trying to distract ourselves with everyday topics a long time ago.”

Bailey slowly sat back down, this time with less distance between the two of them. “Okay… What do you wanna talk about?”

Zhen shrugged. “Tell me about yourself?”

There was clear hesitation in Bailey. He diverted his eyes. For a moment, Zhen thought he would just get up and leave, but then those yellow eyes met his, and he noticed Bailey physically relax.

“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like/reblog on Tumblr [here](http://magicrobins.tumblr.com/post/157052603905/love-struck).


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